Tuesday, 31 July 2007

Kiss Me Heroine Make has a very popular line of mascaras that is widely available in Japanese drugstores. They've just launched a new lipgloss (1029yen) in 3 shades, pink, beige and red. These have intense shimmer and are a bit sticky, according to the first few reviews on Cosme.net.

The Shu Uemura "Komon" fall collection is now up on the official website. I love the elegant promo image but I find it strange that for such a quintessentially Japanese makeup brand, Shu never uses Japanese or Asian models in its ad campaigns, only Caucasians. At least from what I can remember of its ads over the past few years. If I'm wrong, do enlighten me.

Another website that has worth checking out for its new fall collection is Kesalan Patharan. I played with the collection at the KP counter last week and fell in love with the two new eyeshadow palettes. These are gorgeous, especially the purple palette, with excellent colour payoff. The floral imprint rubs off almost immediately though. The Pure Pearl Varie in S2 Frosty Purple and S3 Frosty Pink are super sparkly, finely-milled rich shimmer powders that are just too pretty for words. This is one KP collection that you do not want to miss! And I'm not even a KP fan...

K-Palette's Real Lasting Eyeliner "1 Day Tattoo" (1260yen) often has its own dedicated display in Japanese drugstores, like the top-selling Opera MyLash and Dejavu Fibrewig mascaras. It is a liquid liner with a slim brush tip. It's K-Palette's bestselling item and currently, there are three new limited edition shades out. #101 is smokey navy in a metal black case. As these do not have a twist-click thingy at the end like Majolica Majorca's Neo Automatic Liners, I still have no idea how one gets the liquid to flow out! Maybe Michelle can enlighten me as I vaguely recall that she has used this before :-) Edited to add: these are actually all the same black colour as the regular liner, it's only the color of the case that's different! These were released to commemorate K-Palette selling over 1 million of these babies.

Prior to arriving in Japan, Stila and MAC dominated my makeup collection. I liked MAC for its uber-hip colours and frequent new collections that meant that there was always something new to look forward to each month. I adored Stila for its whimsical Stila girls illustrations and pretty, feminine makeup. Even though my collection has since expanded to include many Japanese brands, I still reach frequently for my Stila stuff. Sadly, Stila decided a few years ago that the Stila girls made it look too childish and so the Stila girls rarely appear on the products anymore, except in Japan where Stila Japan sometimes releases Japan/Asia-exclusive collections such as the Sakura, Spring Ephemeral and June Bride collections. I've been really lucky to be living in Japan for the past few years and having the opportunity to snap these up. Anyway, I thought I'd do a blog post on my Stila girls collection as I know my buddy Makeuphor also loves them :-) So Iz, this one is for you!

These are the 3-pan palettes. In 2004, Stila released a new design each month exclusively at Nordstrom department store in the US. I finally completed my collection of all 12 earlier this year when I bought the last piece on Yahoo Japan auctions. How I wish Stila would do these again regularly. Also in the photo are the three palettes from the Italian Ices collection (Summer 2003), two Confections for Eyes & Cheeks palettes from Holiday 2003, three palettes from the Mod collection (Fall 2003) and two Japan-exclusive palettes that were released in August 2006. In the bottom right hand corner are three 2-pan palettes that were released exclusively in Japan in October 2006.

Next up are the vintage classic Stila round trios/quads. Many people get turned off by the flimsy cardboard packaging but I don't mind it at all. I think Stila first started releasing these around 2000. I think when I first started noticing Stila, it had just released the High Tea quads (Summer 2002) as I remember seeing them in the Sephora in Georgetown in Washington DC. These are pretty in the pan but hard to work as they're mostly matte shades. The Bohemian trios (Fall 2002) are another fan favourite but the shades tend to look muddy on me. My favourites are the Winter Blues (love the middle shimmery lavender shade), the purple trio that came out for holiday 2005 and Spring Ephemeral, another Japan-exclusive trio that was released in March 2007. Sakura looks very pretty but is actually absolutely lousy in terms of color payoff. Plus I dropped it less than 3 hours after buying it so it's all cracked up...sob! The Japan-exclusive Mystique, Intrigue and Captivate eyeshadow trios and blush duo from Holiday 2006 are cute but the colours are not that stunning. The Cabana Girls collection was also too matte and pale for my liking.

These are the Pussycat Dolls, Sleeping Princess, Holiday Look Books from 2002 and June Bride palettes. June Bride was another Japan-exclusive collection in June 2006. I had to CP quite a few sets of these for fellow MUAers and it was a royal pain having to go around to several counters because each customer was only allowed to buy one set.

These are some of the GWPs that I've collected over the years. The three plastic folder in the top row of the pic on the left came free with an issue of Urb magazine (now defunct) a few years ago. The cushy pink lingerie case was a present from a dear MUA buddy.

These Stila bags and makeup pouch were GWPs given out by Stila Singapore. These are fantastic quality, very sturdy and easy to clean. The bag in the middle was the GWP that was given out when Stila was first launched in Singapore. My mom has used it a lot but it still looks almost brand new. The first bag on the left is my favourite as it's very roomy and I used to carry it for doing CP hauls. Some of the Japanese Stila SAs noticed it and loved it too :-) The lady in the red dress in the bottom right corner of the makeup pouch is the Stila Girl illustration for Singapore! That's our Changi Airport control tower in the background. Unfortunately, Stila Singapore rarely has such good bags as GWPs anymore. Probably because these cost quite a bit to produce.

And finally, this Stila diary is one of my most prized pieces. I had to buy it off Ebay but it was worth every single cent. Of course I could never bear to write in it so it usually just sits in a plastic bag in my drawer, only taken out to be admired once or twice a year. I rarely buy Stila's new products these days due to the lack of Stila girls packaging and also, not many of their recent collections have appealed to me that much compared to the Stila palettes that I already own. Plus I feel guilty that I don't use my existing Stila collection as often as I should. The only Stila item that I've ever managed to finish are a couple of lipglazes in the classic size. Alright, I hope you've enjoyed this trip down the memory lane with me :-)

I took these photos awhile ago but never got around to posting them. Anyway, here they are, the new Kate Gradical Eyes S and Dual Carat Eyes SV2 and BR3. I didn't manage to get photos of the three brown Gradical Eyes S palettes, which of BR2 is really lovely as it's a mix of rose and rosy brown shades rather than the usual chocolate and beige browns.

Agnes B has its own line of cosmetics in Japan. It is mainly retailed through internet and mail order channels as I've never seen it being sold in stores over here although I read somewhere that a counter will be set up in one of the larger Agnes B clothing stores. Their makeup has never appealed to me much but these adorable Pearly Trio Eyeshadows (2415yen) definitely caught my eye! They look very similar to Guerlain's Meteorites and come in a cute transparent dome-shaped pot. The shades are Rose Flower (feminine rose), Moonstone (beige), Soft Amber (brown with gold) and Lila (purple/blue). Each contains three shimmery shades that when mixed together, give a soft nuanced color. The release date is 20 Aug.

Love Clover will be releasing two new shades of its Marshmallow Base UV N (1890yen, 30g) in Natural Ochre and Choco RN on 9 Aug. It has SPF29 and PA+++, perfect for the summer. It is also oil-free and unfragranced and hence suitable for acne-prone skin.

B&C Laboratories is owned by Sony and includes many popular brands like Love Clover and Makemania. It also owns the popular Curvy Lip Silicone lipgloss series. Makemania will be releasing a new liquid eyeliner, Markerbull Eyeliner BK in Pearl Black (1260yen, 1.3ml) and Pearl Brown on 28 Aug. It is supposed to be good for creating a dramatic liner effect. And jumping onto the gel eyeliner bandwagon is the new Markerbull Eye Liner Gel in Gloss Black (1260yen,2g) which comes with its own brush and is supposed to help create a innocent deer-like effect. The corresponding animal metaphors for the Eyeliner BK and BR are the cat and leopard respectively (hence, the small animal drawings near the top of the packaging).

Also new from B&C Laboratories is the Apple-chan Lip Cream (693yen, 9g) and Moist Cream N (798yen, 30g) with apple extract, hyaluronic acid, collagen, Vitamin A and C. The Moist Cream N is a hand cream. Both have a fresh apple scent. There will also be a new Mikan-chan Moist Cream N and Lip Cream with a fresh citrus scent.

The new Ultra Skin Pore Repair Liquid (1050yen, 20g) is a makeup base that can help conceal skin pores and make your skin appear more even. The Kuma Repair Liquid is a makeup base that can help conceal skin discolorations. Check out the hilarious photos on the packaging of the man painting stripes and dots on the woman's face!

Sunday, 29 July 2007

Gransenbon's new blushes, #10 Vanilla and #11 Sugar Marmalade have just arrived in stores. #10 Vanilla is a shimmery white face highlighter and it's limited edition so only a few stores are carrying it. It's almost identical to Gran Decollete Luxury #3 Platiunum Tiara and has a great silky texture with very fine pearl shimmer. #11 Sugar Marmalade is a shimmery light pinky peach that is more pigmented and shimmery than #3 Peach Fizz. It's a shade lighter than #8 Pretty Orange but not as pink toned as #1, #2 or #7. #3 Peach Fizz has also been discontinued and replaced by #11 Sugar Marmalade in the Gransenbon displays. There are also three new eyeshadow duos.

I did some swatches but the photos didn't come out too well but for what it's worth, here they are.

These photos are probably more helpful to show the differences between the various shades.Canmake also has just released a small limited edition collection that includes two new Super Glitter Liners in #4 Pink Soda and #5 Crystal White and two Glitter Eyes trios in #5 Love Pink (white/baby pink/vibrant pink) and #6 Marine (navy/lavender/white). The scan on the right of the small leaflet was posted on 2Channel.

Friday, 27 July 2007

Taking a break from the Japanese brands, here's the fall collection from one of my favourite American brands, Tarte! I was delighted to see that there's finally a new sheer berry cheekstain, Natural Beauty (US$28), in a gorgeous bottle too. There's actually another new one, Blissful (soft warm pink), available over at QVC as part of the Tarte/Borba Fresh Face Forward 5-piece set.

There are also two great new multi-functional sets that are Tarte's forte. The Ready-to-Wear/ Pret-a-Porter Dual Look Palette (US$44) includes six shimmering eyeshadows (pale gold, golden olive, smokey moss, pale pink, lilac, deep violet), two cream blushes (honey peach, rose), four sheer lipsticks (light pink, pinky nude, natural blush, warm burgundy rose), a mini Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara, an all over eye shadow brush, an eyeliner brush, and a mini Rest Assured eyeliner. It looks like great value for a very convenient all-in-one palette. The only thing I'm not too hot about are the cream blushes since these tend to get very messy in a palette.

Next up, the Rejuvelash Lash Exhilarating Set (US$40) has a Picture Perfect Eyelash Curler (the breakthrough ergonomic design makes it easy to use and won't pinch or crimp), Take Two Declumping Lash Exhilarator (treats with ProVitamin B5 and a cocktail of herbal hair restoratives to improve the texture of eyelash hair and increase suppleness, preventing breakage, while a proprietary blend of antioxidants and vitamin C protect against environmental and free radical damage), and Lights, Camera, Lashes! 4-in-1 Mascara (lengthens with rice bran, carnauba, and candelilla wax, while synthetic films hold curl and organic compounds condition). But seeing as you can buy the Curler for US$15 and Lights, Camera, Lashes for US$18 separately on their own, this set is not that awesome in terms of value for money.

And finally, there's the new Inside Out Vitamin Lipstick (US$22) in 3 shades. Bit expensive, really. I still miss the 8-pan eyeshadow palettes covered in different lavender fabrics that Tarte used to put out.

Thursday, 26 July 2007

My dear buddy MakEuPHOR has moved her excellent blog over to Blogger, which means it's much easier for anyone to post comments on it now. Her cheerful and playful style of writing never feels to make me smile and she does the most gorgeous FOTDs. Do check it out!

Got a call from the Awake SA that the fall collection was ready for pick-up today so I went down and picked up the Reflectance Eyes E5 Mauve Mirage and E6 Lilac Shadow palettes plus the Lip Lacquer #15 Rose Opal. Here are the pics!

And my current collection of Awake Reflectance Eyes palettes! These are just as shimmery as the Lunasol Geminate Eyes but the Awake Reflectance Eyes have a much softer, velvety texture similar to Inoui ID whereas the Lunasol eyeshadows tend to feel more dry and powdery.